


The Moment Wasn't His

by AlwaysDreamingAboutFlying



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Cries, Adrien is happy for like two seconds, Adrien is insecure, Angst, F/M, I don't think Ladrien counts because Ladybug doesn't know who he is, Identity Reveal, LadyNoir - Freeform, Lukanette, Marichat, Reveal Fic, Reveal Fic Gone Wrong, Someone get this kid therapy, adrienette - Freeform, one-sided reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22912876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysDreamingAboutFlying/pseuds/AlwaysDreamingAboutFlying
Summary: Never had he been a truly envious boy - minus that one occasion with Copycat - but now… Now he felt something hot burning under his skin. Shouldn't that be him? He was supposed to be the one who was relieved to see the girl under the mask. Wasn't he supposed to be her partner? The one that was always there for her?Then, she was laughing.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 7
Kudos: 134
Collections: THEME: Gifts





	The Moment Wasn't His

Her red suit was gone. Her yoyo was gone. The ribbons in her hair were gone. Her mask was gone. She’d run out of time, and now they knew. The girl under the mask was none other than Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Chat Noir was frozen. “Marinette…?” A thousand thoughts went through his mind. It had really been her all this time? But how? Raising his hand, he opened his mouth to ask, but someone beat him to it.

“Marinette!” Suddenly, before Chat Noir could even get a word out, Luka was pulling Marinette into a tight hug. Everything about his body language suggested that he was relieved, and worried, but most of all, he was... happy. “You’ve been the one who’s been trying to protect me all this time?”

Just like that, Chat Noir’s insides went cold. He felt the colors drain from his face as he watched Marinette try to comfort the boy wrapped around her. Never had he been a truly envious boy - minus that one occasion with Copycat - but now… Now he felt something hot burning under his skin. Shouldn't that be him? He was supposed to be the one who was relieved to see the girl under the mask. Wasn't he supposed to be her partner? The one that was always there for her? 

Then, she was laughing. She had her arms wrapped around him, and Luka had said something to make her laugh.

Adrien’s heart all but plummeted to the ground.

He couldn’t look at this, not when she was in his arms, and especially not when he was making her happy. Why would he spoil his lady’s happiness with his own bitter jealousy? No one had ever said that just because he knew who she was that she would suddenly choose him. Besides, hadn’t Luka been the other boy the whole time? Of course she would want to spend the reveal with him. She wanted to be with Luka, not Chat Noir. 

A tear slipped unbidden down his cheek, and he grit his teeth together as he held back the rest. Now was not the place for crying. He needed to be happy for her, happy that she no longer needed to hide who she was from the boy that she -

He was gone before he could let the sentence finish forming in his mind. The thought rang so loud in his head that he thought he might get a headache from it. At least that might distract him from the ache he felt in his chest...

She loved someone else. He'd heard her say so countless times before, but now that he'd seen it… It felt all too real. The boy she loved was Luka. Not him. Chat Noir had no place in her heart. 

And by extension, neither did Adrien Agreste. 

He landed somewhere - he wasn't sure where exactly, but it was mostly hidden and he was running out of time - and transformed back. As the magic left him, he collapsed against the wall, and fell to the floor. He pulled his legs up to his chest, going full fetal position as he hid his face in his knees. The slight weight on his shoulder meant Plagg was there too, giving Adrien the moment he needed without saying anything. 

The first tear was joined by more as he finally felt it all sink it. With a whimper, he pulled his legs tighter against his chest while the tears rolled down his face. Adrien could feel himself trembling as he started to cry, his shoulders hitting against the sharp bricks while he shook. He was torn between wanting to feel sorry for himself, and wanting to be angry at Luka and Marinette. She was his partner! Wasn’t he supposed to be the first to know who she was? What gave Luka the right to take that moment from them? Why was Luka the one she laughed and hugged instead of him? What hadn’t he done to deserve that from her? Was he just not enough?

As much as every single one of those questions hurt him to think, the worst one of all was the first one on his mind. Why had she all but ignored him? How come she hadn’t reached out for him, or said his name? The answer that his brain came up with terrified him.

She had ignored him because she wasn’t worried about him. Luka was the one she was worried about, and Chat Noir wasn’t. Chat Noir wasn’t enough for her. In fact, Chat Noir was the one who didn’t have the right to spend that moment with her, because it wasn’t Chat Noir that she loved. Luka was the one that she loved, and she wanted Luka to know first. Chat Noir hadn’t earned the right to hold her or make her laugh. He was her immature, reckless, stubborn, and clingy partner. Nothing more. Nothing less. 

Just like that, the tears stopped flowing from his eyes. Any pain or anger he had felt was gone, leaving nothing in it’s void. His heart pounded heavily against his chest as his mind came to the awful conclusion, but he couldn’t come up with an argument against it. As of right now, it was the only thing that made any sense to him. Why else would Marinette - Ladybug - ignore him?

She only ever put up with his flirting because she had to. The only reason she allowed his puns was because he was her partner and she didn’t have a choice. She didn’t actually like him. She only tolerated him.

It explained almost everything. Add in the fact that every interaction he had with her as Marinette, she’d also known that she was Ladybug, and then everything made total sense in his eyes. She didn’t want his undying devotion, or his love. If anything, she probably found it frustrating, or maybe even downright annoying.

He loved her, and he always would. So why would he put her through the torture of being around him when he clearly annoyed her? Maybe this would hurt him for a long time, but he could heal. Besides, it didn’t matter what he felt, so long as she was happy.

That’s what he told himself as he removed the ring from his hand, ignoring Plagg’s protest as he was cut off. He hoped that his last gift to her wasn't too much.

***

Marinette couldn’t believe her eyes. She shook her head repeatedly as she stared down at the box in her hand. “No,” she whispered, tears slipping past her eyes. “Tikki, please tell me he didn’t.”

“I… It’s definitely Plagg’s ring,” Tikki said quietly, floating next to Marinette with a wounded expression. Her little antennae and tail both drooped sadly as she stared at the box. “I can tell.”

With a shaky hand, Marinette looked back to the note that had been waiting for her on her balcony. He couldn’t have… Maybe it was all a dream, and she’d wake up and realize that none of this had ever happened. Reading over the words again didn’t wake her up though. They only served as a brutal reminder of what was real.

‘I won’t bother you anymore. You don’t deserve someone like me holding you back from what makes you happy. He was a fantastic Viperion. I’m sure he’ll make an even better Chat Noir. I know you probably got fed up with my gifts, but here’s one last present from me to hopefully make you smile. You don’t have to deal with me anymore.

Signed,  
Chat Noir.’


End file.
